Buffed-up classic
R. Riis | NY | 10/13/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Great-sounding restoration of the classic LP with 6 alternate takes of the album's best tracks that, if anything, are better than the released versions. Booklet includes original LP artwork but no notes."
THE LAST MIGHTY GASP OF A GREAT BAND
Michael D. Zungolo | Philadelphia, PA USA | 11/04/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This to me is the last "real" JA album. Marty Balin left the following year, and the band's subsequent output (BARK, LONG JOHN SILVER and a poor live album) were just precursors to the inferior Jefferson Starship phase. This album is warm (Marty's beautiful vocal on Jorma's "Turn My Life Down" is one of his best), chilling (every time Grace opens her mouth, especially on the masterpieces "Eskimo Blue Day" and "Hey Frederick"), majestic (Paul's "We Can Be Together", the best of his leftist anthems; "Good Shepherd" with Jorma's regal wah wah; and especially "Wooden Ships", which is to me seven of the most amazing minutes of music ever), funny (Spencer Dryden's parody of pop stardom, "Song For All Seasons", and "The Farm" a sendup of the back-to-the-land movement that was big with the hippies in '69) and bizarre (the aforementioned Slick tunes and the weird little organ version of the Russian folk tune "Meadowlands", complete with goofy background talking). Overall an eclectic, dense, challenging work, the only trouble I have with VOLUNTEERS is the deep backseat taken by Marty Balin. His one songwriting credit are the lyrics to the title track, which was pretty pedestrian compared to the MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" or even Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth". Marty would return, front and center, to the Starship in a few years' time, but on this album--except for his beautiful singing on "Turn My Life Down" and "Wooden Ships"--he's sorely missed."
Totally classic
Chris | formerly of Etton, nr Peterborough, Cambridgeshire | 04/08/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Although at the time this was originally issued, I had a couple of reservations, now I realize how great this album is. It captures the ambiance of a certain time and place in musical and cultural history like no other, except, perhaps, Quicksilver's first album. A glorious evocation of the hard musical edge of the hippy era."
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1